OAFCon returns this weekend in Norman
Word Balloons #1236: Long-running Oklahoma con dates to the 1960s
The retro-styled comics convention OAFCon will be held this weekend, Friday-Sunday, at the Embassy Suites in Norman, Oklahoma.
The nostalgia-styled OAFCon, one of the oldest comic conventions in the United States, makes its 2024 return to Norman, held at the Embassy Suites this Oct. 4-6.
OAFCon features comic books, fantasy art, toys, movie posters, old-time radio memorabilia and more. The show is known for its focus on vintage collectibles, and is often a place comic fans can see rare and expensive comics and related items in person.
The beginnings of OAFCon are rooted in the history of the Oklahoma Alliance of Fans. OAF had its earliest meetings in March 1967, and by 1970, it was hosting Multicon in Oklahoma City and many conventions thereafter. OAF and its conventions had slowed by the 1990s, but longtime comic retailer Bart Bush, who was one of the founders of OAF, revived OAFCon in 2007 for the organization’s 40th anniversary.
Bush died in Sept. 2020 at age 70. Convention organizer Peter Purin took over running the show in 2021 with the blessing of Bush’s family and in communication with other original OAF members.
Guests in 2024 include Steven and Lily Butler, Anthony Tollin, and Buddy Saunders. Saunders’ mycomicshop.com is the presenting sponsor of the show.
Steven Butler is the artist of titles including “Web of Spider-Man,” “Punisher: War Journal,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and many more. Butler drew the debut of the Scarlet Spider, the heroic alias of Peter Parker’s clone Ben Reilly, back in 1994’s “Web of Spider-Man” #118.
His daughter, Lily, currently works with her father on Archie Comics and has previously worked for Marvel and DC. Her comic “Fianna McCool and the Hound of Ulster” is an epic all-ages fantasy inspired by Celtic mythology.
Anthony Tollin is a professional comic colorist whose work includes hit DC stories like “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and many more. Tollin, noted for his work as “The Shadow” reprint publisher with Sanctum Press, coauthored 1979’s “The Shadow Scrapbook” with Walter Gibson (creator of The Shadow).
The hours of the show are 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. Oct. 4, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Oct. 5, and 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Oct. 6.
Admission is $10; $5 for members of the Oklahoma Alliance of Fans.
Kids 10 and under are free.
Find out more about OAFCon at oafcomiccon.com.
Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.